Multiple copy typewriting machine



Jan. 19, 1937. 1 D. Nl-:LsoN 2,068,348

MULTIPLE coPY TYPEwRTING MACHINE Filed May 22, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 19, 1937. L. D. NELSON MULTIPLE con TYPEWRITING MACHINE Filed May 22, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 All 6 f auf@ Jan. 19, 1937. 'l p. NELSON 2,068,348

MULTIPLE COPY TYPEWRITING MACHINE Filed May 22, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Jan. I9, 1937 UNITED. STATES PATENT osi-'ICE MULTIPLE COPY TYPEW-RITING MACHINE Lewis D. Nelson, Coldwater, Mich., assigner to James C. '.lrlmby, Detroit. Mich., and Harry D.

Atwood, Coldwater, Mich.

Application May zz, 193s, serial No. 672,197

1o claims. (ci. iev-153i This invention relates to the printing of a plurality yoi copies in a typewrlting machine by one or more auxiliary inking ribbons lying alongside the main ribbon and disposed between successive sheets of papers in the machine.

The general objects ofthe invention is to provide a new and improved mechanism for theabove purpose which is simple and inexpensive in construction, which is adaptable readily to standard typewrlting machines, whichis reliable in operation and will withstand the rough usage en' countered in such machines, and which is convenient to operate.

Another object is to provide, in a typewriting machine, novel means for supporting'a` copyprinting ribbon for bodily movement into and out of printing position behind the main ribbon and for endwise advancing movement Without at the same time interfering with the typists vision of the work being printed by the main ribbon.

A further object is to provide a new and improved means i'or effecting automatic advance of a copy-printing ribbon mounted in the manner above described.

The inventionalso resides in the novel construction of. the ribbon supporting and the ribbon advancing means which enables the position of the copy-printing ribbon to be adjusted readily and the ribbonto be removed and replaced conveniently.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed ldescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view4 of a typewriting machine equipped with a copyprinting mechanism embodying the features of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical cross-section of the machine shown in Fig. 1 with both of the copy-printing ribbons in printing position.

Fig. 3 is a section taken along the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the cranks of the ribbon advancing mechanism.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectionalV view taken along the line 5 5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 7 is a side elevational view of the mecha- While the invention as disclosed in the drawings is embodied in an attachment for a standard typewriter, it will be apparent that the invention-is not limited to such use but is applicable to any type of printing machine in which 5 a plurality oi' copies are printed simultaneously. It is to be understood therefore that I aim to cover all modifications and alternative constructions falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in.the appended claims. 10

Referring now to the exemplary embodiment shown in the drawings, the numerals I0 and II represent the front and side members of the carriage of a standard typewriter rotatably supporting a paper platen I2 opposite which the main l5 ribbon I3 is led through guides I4. Step-by-step rotation of. the platen to effect line-spacing'and lateral shifting of the, carriage are effected in the usual way by actuation of a horizontally swingable lever I5 which is pivoted at I6 and operates a pawl and ratchet mechanism to advance the platen.

In accordance with the present invention, additional copies are printed on sheets oi' paper disposed behind the main ribbon by one or more auxiliary ribbons II and I8 located between the proper paper sheets on the carriage. For example, if ve copies are to be made, the second andfourth sheets of paper are transparent and the ribbons II and I8 disposed behind these sheets respectively. If only one copy is desired in addition to that printed by the ribbon I3, only the ribbon f7 would be used and its forward surface would be masked properly to avoid printing on the back ofl the iirst sheet. y 35 To support the ribbon I1 in printing position as shown in Fig. 1 and for endwise movement longitudinally of the platen I2, the opposite ends of the ribbon are wound upon spools I9 and 20 and the intermediate portion extends through guide slots 2i in arms 22. The opposite ends ofv the ribbon' I8 are similarly wound upon spools 23 and 24 and the intermediate portion extended between guide arms 25.

To support the ribbon I'I for independent bodily movement of its intermediate portions into and out of active or printing position, the spools I9 and 20 are'rotatably mounted on the freeends,

of arms 26 which are pivotally mounted on the paper carriage to swing forwardly and down- 50 wardly and carry the ribbon into printing position alongside the platen and behind the main ribbon. 'I'lie spools 23 and 24 are mounted in a similar manner upon the free ends of Aarms 21.

The arms of each pair are rigidly connected for 55 movement in unison toward and away from the platen. To provide such a connection and locate the same so as not to obstruct the typists vision of the matter being printed by the main ribbon, the ends of the arms 21 opposite the spools 23 and 24 are rigidly secured to bushings 28 driven onto the end of a tube 29 adjacent the ends of the latter. The extreme ends-of the bushings are journaled in bearingsron the ends of brackets 30 projecting rearwardly from and detachably secured as by bolts 3| to plates 32 which are detachably clamped upon the side frames I I of the carriage. shaped differently for different makes of typewriting machines, the arrangement preferably being such as to locate the tube 29 immediately behind the usual paper rest 32B. The arms 26 are made rigid with bushings 33 which are pressed onto the ends of a tube 34 enclosing and rotatably supported by the tube 29. By locating the bushings side by side and adjacent the bearing, the arms 26 and 21 are held effectually against lateral displacement. It will be observed that with the arms thus mounted, they may be swung down into a position overlying the platen I2 or may be swung backwadly into an out-ofthe-way position behind the paper rest 32B.

In the present instance, the spools are made in two separable parts to facilitate removal and replacement of the copy ribbons. Each comprises a hub (Fig. 3) in the .form of a sleeve 33B having outer and inturned flanges 34 and 35 at one end. The other end of the sleeve is adapted to receive thereon in telescoping relation a sleeve 36 onto which the ribbon is wound and held in place by a iiange 31. The sleeve 36 is adapted to telescope snugly on the sleeve 33a, one end of the ribbon extending through a slot in the sleeve 36 and becoming firmly wedged between the two sleeves as the latter are united to form the spool.

The spools I9 and 20 are loosely mounted on alined short shafts 31 (Figs. 3 and 8) extending through and journaled in a bushing 38 carried by enlargements 39 on the forward ends of the arms 26. The inner ends of the shafts project loosely through the opening defined by the spool flange 35 which is disposed between two disks 40 of friction material. A nut 4I disposed within the sleeve 33 and threadingonto the inner end of the shaft 31 is tightened sufliciently to compress a concave disk 42 of resilient metal between the adjacent disk 40 and a metal disk 43 whereby to develop the desired frictional resistance opposing rotation o f the spool for a purpose which will appear later.

The spools 23 and 24 are similarly supported by plates 44 depending from and detachably secured by pin and slot connections 45 to the free ends ofthe arms 21 on the inner sides thereof whereby to locate the spools in the same vertical planes as the spools I9 and 20. The arms 26 are made shorter than the arms 21 so that the spools 23 and 24 are supported at the same level as but in front of the spools I9 and 20 when in printing position., To. provide for vertical adjustment of the ribbons, the guide arms 22 and 25 have adjustable pin and slot connections with the enlargements 39 and the plates 44. Horizontal adjustment of the ribbon I1 is obtained through the pin and slot connections 3| which may be loosened to enable the entire supporting tube assembly to be shifted horizontally along the plates 32. Horizontal adjustment of the ribbon I8 is permitted at' the joints 45. By virtue of the different provisions for adjustment The bearing brackets 30- may be.

of the ribbon positions and for location of the tubes by which the ribbons are supported, the attachment may be applied readily to different standard makes of typewriters.

When the arms 26 are swung forwardly and lowered to the position shown in Fig. l, plates4 46 secured to and spaced from the arms engage and rest upon ledges 4.1 (Figs. 1 and 9) on angularly shaped members 48 secured to the plates 32. Flanges 49 upstanding from the plates 32`provide upwardly opening slots 56 into which headed pins 5I become seated as the ribbons are lowered into printingpositin. The arms are thus supported in an accurately defined position and held against lateral displacement. Similar pins on the plates 44 enter similar Vnotches as the arms 21 are swung down into place. In the lowermost position of the arms 21, projections 52 on the plates 44 engage and rest upon ledges 53 formed in the arms 26.

From Fig. 2, it will be seeny that the ribbon I8 leaves the spools 23 and 24 on the rear side of the latter and extends substantially vertically to the guide bars 25. To avoid sharp turns in the ribbon I1 and a consequent increase in driving friction, this ribbon leaves the spools I9 and 20 from the forward sides of the latter, that is, on the sidesadjacent the spools 23 and 24. The ribbon I1 extends onto the guides 22 around rollers 54. The lower ends of each pair of guide arms 22 and 25 are maintained in spaced relation as by bending one of the arms laterally as indicated at 55 (Fig. 2). Any possibility of the ribbon-s being pinched between the two arms during advance thereof is thus avoided.

The invention contemplates advancing the intermediate portion of each copy-printing ribbon automatically and in an endwise direction during normal operation of thc typewriting machine while the ribbons are in printing position. In the present embodiment, such advance is effected as an incident to operation of the line-spacing or carriage return mechanism through the medium of a link slide bar 56 mounted `adjacent the armv 21 and guide-d at its forward end by the member 48 and a headed pin 48a anchored in the member 48 and projecting through a slot in the slide. The bar is thus adapted for horizontal endwise reciprocation transversely of the axes of the spools. Rigid with an-d projecting downwardly from the forward end of the slide is an arm 51 having a notch 58 into which projects an arm 59 integral with the line-spacing slide 59a (Fig. 7) and actuated by an arm I5a on the lever I5. As the lever is swung toward the right, as viewed in Fig. l, the slide is shifted rearwardly, being returned to its normal forward position upon retraction of the lever by the usual return spring.

Reciprocation of the slide 56 imparts a unidirectional step-by-step advancing movement to the spool I9 through the medium of a pawl and ratchet unit 60 mounted on the adjacent arm 26 and having a connection with the slide which is disengaged and engaged automatically upon raising and lowering the arms. Herein the unit 60 includes a crank member in the form of two disks 6I (Fig. 4) riveted together in spaced relation and loosely pivoted on the outer end of the shaft 31 between the arm 26 and the plate l46 carried thereby. A pin 62 carrying a flanged roller 63 at its outer end projects from the upper or free end of the crank member through a horizontally extending slot 64 in the plate 46 which slot serves to dene limit positions between which the crank may swing. As the arms 26 are swung down- .ward movement of the slide 56.

' arm 85 isr withdrawn from the notch and the notch 65 in the sli e 56. A' spring 66 acting between the plate '46 nd the outer disk 6| normally ten-ds to oscillate the disks to the right hand end of the slot 64 (Fig. '1) thereby positioning the roller 63 for entry into the notch 65.

Fast on the shaft 31 between the disks 6|` is a ratchet wheel 61 which is adapted to be advanced in a clockwise direction (Fig. 8) by pawls 68 pivotally mounted between the disks and urged by spring 69 into engagement with the ratchet teeth. The pawls have teeth 10'which are spaced along the periphery of the ratchet so that when one tooth is engaging one of the ratchet teeth to adwardly, the roller enters an upwardly opening vance the ratchet, the other pawl tooth will be is avoided by the provision of double check pawlsl .1| having similarly spaced teeth and pivcted on a pin 12 connecting the plate 46 and the adjacent arm 26.

Mounted on the arm 21 and associated with the spool 23 is a ratchet unit 13 which is of the same construction as the unit 68 but which is mounted in inverted relation with its anged roller 14 disposed at the lower edge of the crank disks and adapted to enter an upwardly opening notch 15 in the slide 56. By virtue'of this inverted relation of the oscillatory ratchet units 60 and 13,l it will be apparent that these units will advance their ratchet wheels in opposite directions upon rear- Accordingly, the spools I9 and 23 will be rotated in opposite directions and the vertically extending portions of the ribbon between the spools and the guide slots will move in the same direction because the ribbons leave the spools on adjacent sides thereof for the reasons above mentioned.

In order that thevdirection of feed of the copyprinting ribbons may be reversed, means is provided for applying the movement of the slide 56 to the pair of spools at either end of the platen. This means involves the provision. of ratchet units 16 and 11 for the spools 20 and 24, a clutch for enabling each spool to .be coupled positively to its supporting drive shaft 31, and .means for transmitting the motion of the slide 56 to the `other end of the platen for actuation of the ratchet units 16 and 11. To thus transmit the motion of the slide, a second similarly mounted slide 18 has notches 19 and 8|! positioned to receive the flange rollers of these ratchet units.

, hand lever 86 projecting into the bifurcated end of a cap 81 which threads onto the end of the shaft 31. The lever is fulcrumed on a pin 88 extending through the cap. When the lever is positioned as shown in Fig. 5, the arm 85 is seated in one of the notches 84 thereby establishing a positive driving connection between the shaft and the spool. When the lever is swung into the position shown in dotted outline in Fig.v 5, the

tance.

the lever into engaged position whereupon the arm 85 will enter the next notch 84 which it encounters in the rotation of the shaft 31,I the clutch being thereafter held engaged. In the engaged position of the clutch, the arm 85 does not project beyond the outer periphery of the `sleeve 33a thereby enabling the removable section 36 of the spool to be slid off from the sleeve 33a and a new spool to be placed thereon.

It will be observed that by engaging one of the clutches and disengaging the other clutch of each pair of spools, the ribbon dsupported thereby will be conditioned for automatic advance of the ribbon through a predetermined distance each time the line-spacing lever I is actuated with the ribbon lowered into printing position. In such movement of the line-spacer, the slides 56 and 18 are shifted rearwardly `which causes both ratchet units of the ribbon to be oscillated and the shafts 31 to be advanced a corresponding dis- The spool which is then coupled to its shaft is thus advanced, unwinding from the loose spool a corresponding length of ribbon and drawing the intermediate portion through its guides. Overrunning of the loose spool is eifectually prevented by virtue-of the friction due to the stress under which the associated spring 42 is maintained. At the limit of this movement, the check pawls of the ratchet mechanism on the clutched spool become effective to prevent any substantial amount of reverse movement thereby avoiding the development of any slack in the intermediate portion of the ribbon and consequent smudging of the printed copy. When the ribbon has been substantially wound off from the loose spool, the then engaged clutch is disengaged and the disengaged clutch is engaged whereupon the ribbon will beadvanced in the reverse direction upon subsequent operation of the line spacer.

I claim as my invention:

1. l In a typewriting machine having a laterally shiftable paper carriage carrying a rotary platen, the vcombination of a tube extending along the rear side of said carriage and pivotally mounted thereon, a pair of arms rigid with opposite ends of said tube and swingable forwardly'and downwardly to a position overlying said platen, a. pair of alined shafts rotatably mounted upon the forward ends of the respective arms, spools rotat ably mounted on said shafts and each adapted to be`coup1ed for rotation therewith or to be uncoupled therefrom, a copy-printing ribbon having opposite ends wound upon said spools and an intermediate portion stretchedv between said arms, a pair of oscillatory members on the free ends of said arms each having a ratchet drive connection with one of said shafts, a shaft extending through said tube and carrying cranks at opposite ends, a pair of horizontally reciprocable bars extending alongside of said arms andy each having one end connected to the free end of one of said cranks and the other end connected to oneof said members eccentrically of the axis thereof, and means operable as an luci- The disengaged position of the clutch dent to normal operation of said machine to reciprocate one of said bars.

2. In a typewriting machine having a laterally shiftable paper carriage, the combination of a pair of rigidly connected arms disposed at opposite ends of said carriage and pivotally mounted on said carriage for movement of their free ends toward and from the carriage, a pair of spools each' rotatably mounted on the free end of one of said arms, an auxiliary copyprinting ribbon having opposite ends wound onto said spools, a member mounted on said carriage at one end thereof and arranged for reciprocation automatically during operation of said machine, and means providing a disengageable oneway driving connection between said member and both of said spools including a part extending along and adapted for pivotal movement about the pivotal axis of said arms.

3. In a typewriting machine having a laterally shiftable paper carriage, the combination of an arm pivotally mounted on said carriage and swingable into a position substantially7 parallel to said carriage, a spool rotatably mounted on the free .end of said arm, a copy-printing ribbon having one end wound on said spool, a bar mounted on said carriage for endwise reciprocation transversely of the axis of said arm, means forreciprocating said bar during operation of said machine, a crank pivotally mounted on the free end of said arm and having a disengageable one-way driving connection with said spool, and a iianged roller pivotally mounted on said crank and adapted to become seated in a notch upon movement of said arm` toward said bar.

4. In a typewriting machine having a carriage and a line spacer member thereon, the combination of an auxiliary printing ribbon, a spool on which one end of said ribbon is wound, means supporting said spool for rotation and for bodily movement toward and away from said carriage, a ratchet wheel adapted to be coupled to said spool, a crank member pivotally mounted on said supporting means concentric with the axis of said wheel and carrying a pawl for advancing the wheel, a slide mounted on said carriage for endwise reciprocation parallel to said crank member during operation of said line spacer member, and a lateral projection on the free end of said arm adapted to interengage with said slide and establish a driving connection between the slide and said crank member upon movement of said supporting means toward said carriage, said connection being interrupted upon movement of the supporting means away from the carriage.

5. In a typewriting machine having a laterally shiftable paper carriage, the combination of a support mounted on said carriage and movable toward and away from the latter, a spool rotatably mounted on said support, a copy-printing ribbon having one end wound on said spool, a bar mounted on said carriage for endwise reciprocation transversely of the direction of movement of said support, means for reciprocating said bar during operation of said machine, a crank pivotally mounted on said support Vand having a disengageable one-way driving connection with said spool, spring means normally tending to turn said crank relative to said support and acting when the crank is free to move the same to a predetermined limit position, and a lug and notch on said crank and said bar adapted to interengage in driving relation upon movement of said arm toward said carriage with said crank in said limit position.

6. In a typewriting machine, the' combination of a pair of auxiliary copy printing ribbons, a pair of spools each having one end of one of said ribbons wound thereon, a member supporting said spools side by side substantially in a common plane to turn about spaced parallel axes, a pair of crank arms pivotally mounted on said member and extending substantially parallel to each other but projecting in opposite directions, a one-way disengageable driving connection between each of said crank arms and one of said spools, and an actuating bar connected to the free ends of both of said cranks and reciprocable back and forth periodically in the normal operation of said machine.l

'7. In a typewriting machine having a rotary platen, the combination of a support mounted on the machine for movement toward and away from said platen, a shaft rotatably mounted on and projecting from said support, means operable in the operation of said machine to advance said shaft step-by-step, a rotatable sleeve concentric with said shaft, a ribbon spool having a tubular hub fitting over and telescoping with said sleeve, a manually operable clutching element mounted on the end of said shaft and movable into and out of clutching engagement with the projecting end of said sleeve, the overall dimensions of said element being less than the diameter of said sleeve whereby to permit said spool to be removed from said sleeve.

8. In a typewriting machine having a horizontal paper carriage, the combination of a pair of vertically movable supports at opposite ends of said carriage, a pair of alined shafts rotatably mounted on said supports and projecting toward each other, an auxiliary ribbon, a pair of spool sleeves each rotatably and removably mounted on one of said shafts and having the opposite ends of said ribbon wound thereon with the intermediate portion of the ribbon stretched between the sleeves, means operable during normal operation of said machine to advance ene of said shafts step-by-step, and a clutch at the end of each shaft operable to establish a driving connection between such shaft and the spool sleeve mounted thereon and having overall dimensions not greater than the hole in said spool sleeve whereby to permit endwise removal of the spool sleeve over the clutch.

9. In a typewriting machine having a rotary platen, the combination of a support mounted on the machine for movement toward and away from said platen, a shaft rotatably mounted on and projecting from said support, means operable in the operation of said machine to advance said shaft step-by-step, a rotatable sleeve concentric with said shaft, and having annularly spaced shoulders at its projecting end, a ribbon spool removably mounted on said sleeve, and a bell crank lever pivoted on said shaft to swing about an axis extending transversely thereof and having an operating arm projecting from said sleeve in an axial direction and a second arm movable into and out of engagement with said shoulders.

10. In a typewriting machine having a rotary platen, the combination of a support mounted on the machine for movement toward and away from said platen, a shaft rotatably mounted on and projecting from said support, means operable in the operation of said machine to advance said shaft step-by-step, a rotatable sleeve concentric r.

with said shaft, and having annularly spaced shoulders at its projecting end, a ribbon spool removably mounted on said sleeve, a bell-crank lever pivoted on said shaft to swing between two limit positions about an yaxis extending transversely of the shaft, said lever having an arm adapted, when in one of said positions, to engage the other of said positions but operable, upon movement' of the lever out of said last mentioned position, to urge the lever toward said rst men- I' tioned position.

LEWIS D. NELSON. 

